Laundry detergent... do you use a full cap?

[Charade]

BTW, how can you tell if there's too much soap left in your clothes?

Run it through the wash cycle without soap and stop it before the rinse. If there are suds in the water or the water feels slippery, there's still soap in them. I think that's what irritates peoples skin. As people sweat, it allows the transfer of the soap in the clothes to their skin.


Try it with bath towels since they hold the most soap/water and you won't have to worry about wearing them out.

 

[Kermit]

BTW, how can you tell if there's too much soap left in your clothes?

If you look in the washing machine toward the end of the rinse cycle, you shouldn't see bubbles.

I use less than they say to. I always did before, but I especially do now since I have a front loader and use regular detergent. I wash cloth diapers, and you have to be very sure that you get out all of the detergent because residue will make them repel water and therefore leak. It's pretty easy to tell if cloth diapers are clean, since they would look dirty and smell bad if they weren't, so I figure I have a good indication of how much detergent I need to use.

 

[chrissyk]

NO!! We use less than 1/4 cup, and it works just as well. We had to start doing this when we lived in our old house in MA. We had very hard water, and the detergent wasn't washing out of the clothes. We were so itchy all the time. Even "All Free and Clear" made us itchy, so we finally figured out that we had to use a lot less detergent. Since it worked just as well, I never went back to using more detergent per load when we moved.

 

[MUFFYCAT]

I'm the opposite - I usually use a full cap plus a little bit extra. I just really want CLEAN clothes!

That's what I do also. I don't know if it helps.

 

[gr8tpanther]

I'm the opposite - I usually use a full cap plus a little bit extra. I just really want CLEAN clothes! And laundry detergent is one product where I think you get what you pay for. I like Tide - not the cheap stuff.

 

[Annette_VA]

We use the big jug of Tide from BJ's & it has a little push button spout on it. We store the Tide on a shelf above the washer, so I just push on the button and let detergent fall right into the washer. I have no idea how much it amounts to - I just hold the button down for a few seconds.

 

[Judy from Boise]

I have always used about half of what they said to use, but I just bought a front loader, and now that is down to a quarter! My clothes come out very clean.....and they last and stay bright forever.

 

[totalia]

Or, like me, do you skimp a little, figuring that the company wants you to use more than you need so that you buy more product?

Nope. You actually only need about half of what they tell you. They just want you to buy more. If you use all of it, the scent is really strong and its harder on your clothing.

 

[BARBARAAPPLE]

I use alittle less than called for our washing machine seems so small and when I use a whole cup it seems to have soap left in the clothes at the end

 

[MICKEY88]

the amount should vary depending on the size of the laod and the dirt level....mre than a capfull is a waste..

If I remember correctly their are several markings on the cap, for various load sizes....


too much soap prevents it from sudsing and doing it's job....plus it doesn't rinse out and will cause allergic symptoms in some people...

 

[brermomof2]

I would pm Pop Daddy about this.

 

[Twinkies]

I saw someone on Oprah years ago that said there's plenty of residual soap left in your clothes for at least another load....if you wash a load without soap, you'd see the suds come out. I don't like the idea of that residual soap touching my/kids skin!

Therefore, I skimp, espeically when the load is not really dirty- and it's easier on the budget as well.

 

[CajunDixie]

I never thought about the water softner effecting the laundry. A few months ago I received a sample of a new version of laundry soap and could not understand why I had tons of bubbles after the first load when I only used the "recommended" amount of detergent.

 

[Brandon79]

well, my skin should be nearly scalded off! i use 2 full caps for every wash! thing is, water in florida is very hard & it seems to need it. no water softener here at current place.

 

[Margie J]

In my high efficiency (Neptune) washer I use regular detergent but less than recommended for the load size. Items come out clean.

 

[dizneenut]

Nope, I use about 1/2 a cap.

 

[~*Belle 2003*~]

I always tend to use a little more.